An Garda Síochána: Motion Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-13 ============================================================ Noel O'Donovan (FG), Nominated by the Taoiseach I second the motion. The Minister of State is welcome to the Chamber for this important debate. I would like to acknowledge a friend of mine Michael O'Sullivan from Rosscarbery who was laid to rest on Monday last. He recently celebrated his 90th birthday. Mick had served 39 years as a member of an Garda Síochána. He was much more than a garda; he was a community man at heart. Significantly and deservedly, he was awarded the 2016 overall West Cork Hero award. At the time of receiving his award, his words were that he got happiness from helping people. Mick was the essence of what An Garda Síochána is and continues to be in our communities. I am a former member of An Garda Síochána and public service is something I have lived and not just spoken about. It is a value that has stayed with me from my early years, through my time in An Garda Síochána and now as a Member of Seanad Éireann. Having worn the uniform, I understand what it represents. It is not just a job; it is a duty to step forward at times when others step back often in difficult and life-threatening situations when their only defence or protective weapon is the strength of their communication. I am proud to have served and have a deep respect for those who continue to serve. Those most close to my family continue to do so. The motion rightly recognises the crucial role played by An Garda Síochána in protecting our State, maintaining law and order and upholding justice. Gardaí serve communities across Ireland 24 hours a day and go above and beyond the call of duty. I also welcome the recognition the motion affords to continued investment across our justice system in An Garda Síochána, the Courts Service, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Prison Service and the Probation Service. There is no doubt progress has been made. Funding has increased significantly with over €2 billion allocated for 2026. Recruitment is expanding with a target of 15,000 gardaí, the highest number in the history of State. The expansion of the Garda College and the growth in Garda staff freeing up members from front-line duties are all positive steps. However, we need to go further. I believe we need a police force of 20,000 members and we should be ambitious with our plans. Measures such as body-worn cameras and stronger penalties for attacks on gardaí are important in protecting both members and the public. However, investment alone does not always reflect the reality on the ground. In recent Dáil debates and in this House, concerns have been raised about Garda visibility and morale. While there are political differences, the underlying issue is real. From my experience and from speaking to members today and every other day, I am clear that morale remains under pressure. We are bringing new people into the organisation, which is essential, but we are also losing experienced members. In 2025 alone, over 200 gardaí retired. This is significant loss of experience and leadership. We need to look at how we retain this knowledge. Consideration should be given to allowing retired members who wish to contribute to continue in their work in a structured capacity. We should not lose his level of expertise because it can still be of benefit to the organisation and to us, the public. The Metropolitan Police in London operates a return scheme for retiring members to continue in the job in a number of roles. We need to learn from this scheme. Many retiring members who would like to continue in work and contribute further but have no clear path to do so. There are also ongoing concerns about pensions, particularly for those who joined post 2013; I was one of them. These issues affect long-term retention and must be addressed once and for all by Government in the upcoming pay negotiations. Another reality relates to how the time of gardaí is used. We talk about high-visibility policing but too often gardaí are tied up in paperwork and administrative processes. I can attest to this from my own experience. If we want gardaí to be visible in communities, we need to enable them to be visible. That means cutting bureaucracy and ensuring gardaí are supported so they can focus on front-line policing because community policing works. It builds trust, prevents crime and strengthens communities. My suggestion of allowing retiring members to work on, perhaps on court duties, court presenting, preparing a court file, warrants or any one from the long list of internal roles makes common sense. Civilians or Garda staff have a role and have contributed greatly to the organisation. However, we will always need sworn or attested gardaí to carry out investigative and prosecution matters. This would free up more gardaí for on-the-ground policing. There are criticisms of the new policing model. I have seen how it has functioned within Garda stations. All Members will have heard of these criticisms and some will call for its scrapping. I am calling for an independent review of its implementation to evaluate its successes, its failures, what is working and what is not. We owe it to serving members but it is also prudent management to assess and analyse. That is my view. The motion calls on the House to condemn threats made against gardaí and their families and that is absolutely necessary. I find it appalling that not all political parties in these Houses have condemned the recent threats on gardaí. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-13/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:56+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-05-13